Lighting system for vehicles.



L. R. DUVAL. LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1,1910.

1,033,560. Patented July 23, 1912.

IN VE N TOR WITNESSES.

[101028 iflzu/al BY W 1 E M "g I ATTORNEYS Be it known that I, -LOUIS LOUIS a. DUVAL, or imw YORK, N. .Y., ASSI OF WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY, AND

GNOB OF ONE-HALF TO GILES C. GARDINEB,

LUCIEN KNAPP, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES.

To all whom it may concern:

R. Duvama citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New, York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved.

Lighting System for Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electric lighting systems for use on motor vehicles, an particularly to that type of s stem in which there is employed a dynamo riven from the engine for generating the necessary current for the side and tail lights and for the search lights In my improved system I em loy a dynamo, the maximum output 0 which is equal to the maximum load, that is, the dynamo is capable of enerating just sufiicient current for all 0 the lights. In the i system I employ a field rheostat in the form of a variable resistance, and this rheostat is so connected that when only the side and tail lights are burning, the amount of resistance mserted in the field by the rheostat will .cause the dynamo to generate only such current as is necessary to exactly carry these side aud'tail lights, while when the search lights are turned on, the resistance is auto matically short-circuited.

The invention will now be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, which shows diagrammatically the elements of my system and the wiring plan.

The details of construction of the various elements are not im ortant, and therefore the illustration of suc details is not: thought necessary for a full understanding of the invention. g

In my improved system, I employ a dynamo'lO, of any suitable construction but preferably a direct current machine having a maximum output of, for instance, ten amperes at seven volts. The dynamo 10 is mounted at any suitable point on the vehido, but preferably adjacent the that it may be readily driven therefrom. At any suitable point on the vehicle, is a storage battery 11, which also may be of any suitable character, for instance, a three-cell battery of six volts and sixty ampere hours is suitable. In a'box on the running board or at any other convenient place, is mounted Specification of LettersPatent. Application flledl'nne 1, 1910. Serial No. 564,885.

more

engine, so.

Patented July 23, 1912.

a switchboard upon which is carried a single-pole' switch 12, a double-pole switch 13, a field rheostat 14, an output regulator 15, anautomatic cut-out 16, and an ammeter 17, which latter may have an exterior shunt 18.

These different elements lead to terminals 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, by a system of wiring hereinafter more particularly described. Thus, the entire switchboard with all of the parts of the system except the battery, dynamo and lights, may be readily removed or installed on a car. This is not essential as far as the invention is con- 'cerned, but is only desirable from the standpoint of quick installation.

The car has three lights 26, 27 and 28, which constitute the two side lights and the tail light, and which are kept burning at all times while the car is in use or standing on the street at night. These side and tail lights may be of small size, for instance, one ampere, six candle-power each. The car also carries high power search lights 29 and 30, which may be of three and one-half amperes each. and giving twenty candle-power at six volts. All of the lights may be connected to the frame or to any other metal part of the machine, so as to constitute a ground 31 and to avoid the necessity for double wiring. The side and tail lights are connected in parallel and a wire 32 leads therefrom to the terminal 19 on the switchboard. The two search lights 29 and are connected in parallel and a wire 33 leads to the terminal 20 on the switchboard. One brush of the armature is connected by a wire 34 to the terminal 22 on the switchboard,

and the other brush is connected through the field 35 of the dynamo to the terminal 21. The last-mentioned brush is also connected to the ground by a connection 36, which is connected to one pole of the storage battery by a connection 37 and to the terminal 24 on the switchboard by a connection 38. The other pole of the.battery is connected to the terminal 25 on the switchboard by a connection 39.

On the switchboard, a wire 40 leads from the terminal 19 to the switch 12. The switch 12 connects with a wire 41 leading from a pole of the double-pole switch to one end of the exterior shunt 18, and the opposite end of this shunt is connected by a wire at the terminal 25. The ammeter is preferably of the. double-reading type and has a scale graduated to read, for instance, fifteen amperes on the charge side and twenty amperes on the discharge side. It Wlll be noted that all current flowing to of from the storage battery must pass through the wire 39, and that the ammeter will indicate at all times whether the battery is being -charged or discharged andat what rate.

The output regulator includes a solenoidfrom the solenoid coil 44 to the automatic cut-out, and a wire 49 leads from the last of the series of the carbon disks 46 to the pole 42 of the double-pole switch and to one end of the field rheostat 14. The movable member of .therheostat is connected by a wire 51 to the terminal 21 of the switchboard, and the switch member of the pole 42 is connected by a wire 52 to this same terminal. The switch. member of the ole 50 is connected by a wire 53 to the terminal 20 of the switchboard.

The automatic cut-out includes a solenoid 54 having two coils 55 and 56 encircling the same and tending to ull it in the same direction. -At one end 0 the solenoid is an automatic switch 57, which is normally held open by the action of a spring 58. The coil 55, which is a series coil, 13 connected to this switch and to the wire 48 leading from the output regulator, whilev the coil 56, which is a shunt coil, is connected to the wire 48 and to a wire 59 leading to the terminal'24. The movable pole of the switch 57 is connected to the wire 41 by a wire 60, which latter may by a wire 61. In installing the system. upon a motor vehicle, the movable member of the field rheostat is placed in a position along the length of the resistance coil dependent, to a certain extent, upon the'relative amount of time which the car is to run in the daytime and at night. This movable member of the rheostat need never be adjusted after the system is installed on the car, or, at least, needs to be adjusted only at rare intervals. The dynamo 10 operates at all times when the engine is running. In the daytime, ,With the switches 12 and 13 rentwill flow from the dynamo through the output regulator and the automatic'cut-ou't. A portion of the current here will flow through the main circuit, the wires 60, 41 and 39,. and thence through the battery back to the dynamo to charge the battery, and a portion will flow through the carbon disks 46, wire .49, field rheostat 14, and thence through the field of the dynamo, back to the merely suflicient to keep be connected to the terminal 23' open, the curother brush. The'field rheostat can be so set that there will be 'ust the right amount of current flowing in t e field circuit to cause the dynamo to ve an output of three amperes, which wi be utilized in charging the battery.- Thus the battery is charged at a very low. rate, and there is very little liability of overcharging. In fact, this charging is the battery in good condition. At night, with the engine running and the switch 12 closed, the current will flow as above. indicated, through the fieldrheostat and the field coil 35 of the dynamo, but it will also flow through the output regulator'and automatic cut-1n and cut-out to the wire 60. From hereit will flow through the wire 41 to the switch 12,.and

thence through the side and tail lights to' the ground and back to the dynamo.

When it is desired to turn on the search lights 29 and 30, the doubleole switch 13 is closed. The current may t en flow from the wire 41,.through the pole .'50 and one side of the double pole switch 13, thence to the wire 53 and 'by way of the terminal 20 through the search lights 29 and 30, to the ground and back to the dynaino.' At the same time, the current flowing in the wire 49 through the field rheostat 14 and the wire 51 is diverted and pole 42 and the other side of the double pole switch 13, thence to the wire 52 and so as before through the terminal 21 and the field 35 of the dynamo to the other brush, consequently, short circuiting the field rheostat 14 and giving the dynamo its maximum and causing it to generate its At night when the engine is standin still and itis desired that the side and tail %ights remain burning, the current may flow from one pole of the battery through the wires 37 and 36 to the ground, and from the other pole of the battery through the wires 39, 41 and 40 to the lights and thence to the round.

The cut-out 16, which is automatic in its action, is controlled by the voltage towhich field streng maximum output.

it is subjected in such manner that when the voltage of the system exceeds a predetermined limit, the dynamo is cut into circuit and when the voltage drops below said limit, the dynamo is cut out of circuit.

My system automatically takes care of all conditions which may arise in connection with the lighting system, The output of the dynamo is cut down by the rheostat, so that the battery merely floats on the line during the normal operation at night, and the field rheostat is automatically short-circuited upon the turning-on of the search lights, so that the battery still merely floats in the circuit. The only time the battery is utipasses through the lized is for supplying current for the li hts at those times when the engine is stan ing still at night, and the only time the battery is charged is when the lights are not burning and the'engine is running. These times aproximately balance'each other, but if one is greatly in excess of the-other, then the movable member of the'field rheostat may be so adjusted that the current generated in the daytime will-balance that consumed at night when the car is stationary, even though the relative times of day andnight runnin vary greatly. The switch 57 automatica y opens when the dynanio is stopped, and this automatical ly prevents the battery from being short-circuited. This current from the battery can then flow only through the side and tail lights and then onl if the switch 12 be closed. If the lights be burning from a current from'the battery and the engine is started, the dynamo as it gathers speed will increase its voltage until this voltage rises above that of the battery. The automatic cut-in and cut-out then closes the 'circuit between the dynamo and the lamps, and the load is taken over by the dynamo. Whether or not the battery will aid the dynamo or will be charged at a slow rate, will depend upon the position of the movable member of the field rheostat. ,If the speed of the dynamo increases above the normal, the dynamo tends to generate more current to pass through the battery and the solenoid in the output regulator. The solenoid then moves to counteract the pressure of the s ring-45 and the resistance in the carbon isks 46 will be increased so as to maintain the output of the dynamoconstant; The im ortant feature of my invention is the rinclple of connecting the lamps with the dynamo field, whereby the dynamo under any and all circumstances delivers a current exactl suflicient to carry the load, so that the battery acts merely as a balanger. The governing of the 'output against speed variation and the cutting-in of the dynamo as the voltage rises above that of the battery, con- 45 stitute no important feature of my invention. Amonv the advantages of my invention, is that the small battery such as is used on most automobiles is suitable, in place of a s ecial heavy battery of high ca acity capab e of withstanding igh rates charge and discharge. I avoid undue overcharging when the head lights are not used for considerable time, andI also avoid the necessity for any autoi'naticgdevice for cutting out the dynamo when the battery becomes overcharged, as is done in some lighting systems now in use. Such automatic devices are more or less complicated and unreliable and add complication to the system.

{In In system, the battery never gets overchar 7 as when the current is not required a, lights, the dynamo is generating only a small amount of current which is just enough to keep the battery in good condition. Eertthe successful. operation of the for system, it is only necessary that the dynamo and lights balance each other, and this is! done b using lamps, the combined c0nsumption o -which equals the maximum output of the dynamo used in the system. The system can easily be installed on the average automobile, as the dynamo is mounted so as to be operated directly by the engine and the switchboard can be mounted in the battery box or at any other-convenientlocation on the car. The amm ter being of the exterior shunt type can be mounted on the dashboard of the car and connected to the switchboard bytwo light wires. The system being grounded enables only one wire to be used to any point, and the construction of the switchboard provides that no joints are necessary in wiring up. The wires run direct from the various'switchboard terminals to the various points on the lights, dynamo and battery. The terminal 23 on the switchboard is normally notin use, but an additional portable lamp may be connected thereto for use in examining the machine at night, or any other electrically-operated mechanism which is not operated continuously may be connected to this terminal and the other wire of the mechanism grounded.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: F

1. A lighting system for motor vehicles having a dynamo, a series of lights, the combined consumption ofiwhich is substantially equal to the maximum output of said dynamo, a battery having a current capacity suflicient to supply a portion only of said lights for a reasonable length of time, a field resistance for limiting the output of the dynamo substantially equal to the consumption ,of said portion of the lights, said battery floating on the line when saidportion of the lights is in circuit, and means for simultaneously short circuiting said resistance and placing all of said lights in circuit.

2. A lighting system for motor vehicles having a dynamo, a series of lights, the combined consumption of which is substantially equal to the maximum output of said dynamo, a battery having a current capacity suflicient to supply a ortion only of said lights for a reasonable ength of time, a field resistance for limiting the output of the dynamo substantially e mil to the consumption of said portion of the lights, said battery floatin on the line when said ortion of the lights 18 in circuit, means for simultaneously short-circuitin said resistance and placing all of said lig ts in circuit, and means for automaticall breaking the connections between said dynamo and said battery upon the stop ing of the dynamo.

3. A- ight-ing system of the character described, comprising a dynamo, a series of lights, the combined consumption of which is substantially put of said dynamo,

equal to the maximum outa battery having a current capacity sufiicient to supply a portion only of said lights for a reasonable length of 5 time, a variable resistance in-series with the field of of said dynamo sumption of said battery floating on 10 tlon of the lights is said dynamo for limiting the output substantially to the portion of the lights, said the line when said por- COD- in circuit with said-dynamo, mechanism controllable by the potential of the system for opening the circuit of said dynamo.

In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification in the presence of 15 two subscribing witnesses.

' LOUIS R. DUVAL. Witnesses:

CLAIR W. FAIRBANKS, PHILIP D. .ROLLHAUS. 

